


Reunion

by ioanite



Category: Disney Animated Fandoms, Robin Hood (1973)
Genre: Community: disney_kink, Cute, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 17:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ioanite/pseuds/ioanite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A deleted scene/slight AU: What if it had taken longer for Robin to come out of the river? Long enough that everyone else had returned to camp to break the news to Marian...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> The Prompt: "Robin/Marian - Robin doesn't come out of the river right away, swimming further down the river. Little John tells Marian that Robin didn't make it. Angst ensues and turns into wonderful wonderful fluff when Robin returns alive. "

Marian wrung her hands anxiously, listening for the sound of footsteps outside her tent. Robin had left a few men to stand guard, and they were so deep in the forest that it seemed unlikely that the Sherriff would be able to find them. No, what she was really waiting for was the sign that Robin and Little John had successfully rescued the wrongfully imprisoned citizens and  had returned safely to camp.

They were taking too long. She knew that the rescue attempt would require stealth, but even so, Robin was so resourceful that surely he would have gotten the job done in three hours or less. The fact that the woods were silent around her told her that something was very wrong. Marian lay her hands in her lap and tried to stay still, uttering yet another silent prayer for the safety of the prisoners, of the merry men, and especially for Robin.

Her ears pricked up at a sudden rustling in the undergrowth. Yes, that was Little John’s heavy tread. And now she could hear other footsteps, and the unmistakable clink of gold coins. But the one thing she didn’t hear, the thing that made her blood run cold, was cheers and singing. She rose to her feet and ran outside.

Little John stood in the center of camp, surrounded by townspeople clutching bags of gold. But they all looked stricken; young Skippy was sobbing silently in his mother’s arms. Marian looked up at Little John, already knowing the truth, but needing to hear it from him. “What’s happened, Little John?”

In response, he withdrew a faded yellow hat from out of his pocket and handed it to her. She took it carefully, examining every inch. The red feather was broken and ruffled, and the whole hat was damp to the touch. But most prominent of all was the arrow hole, directly where Robin’s head would have been. She held it to her chest and looked back at Little John. “Did you…did you find his…” she couldn’t say it.

Little John shook his head. “He jumped into the river to escape. This was the only thing that came up.”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Thank you, Little John. Thank you for rescuing these poor people. And…thank you for bringing me his…” her voice broke. Little John put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We’ll take good care of ya, Marian. Until King Richard comes back. It’s what Robin would have wanted.”

She wanted to thank him again, but the ache in her heart was too much, and she turned away and ran back to her tent, holding back her sobs. Collapsing across her bed, she wept, clutching Robin’s hat to her like a talisman. She knew she should give it back to the merry men, to let them have _something_ to bury, but she didn’t know if she could bring herself to give it up. They had his bow and arrows; this was all she had. Surely they wouldn’t begrudge her a memento.

Memories of Robin swirled in her mind, and she tried to gather them together, something she could cling to when the grief became too much. Robin proposing marriage to her in the middle of a battle, inappropriate but oddly romantic in the situation. Escaping to the woods and walking together in the moonlight. The kiss he gave her just before he left for the final daring robbery. Some may scoff and say that he was only interested in her as another ploy to irritate Prince John, but she had always known better. And if the naysayers had seen the way he’d kissed her, all their doubts would have been silenced.

Even through her pain, she was capable of hearing anything amiss. So when the sounds of gasps and rushing feet sounded outside the tent, she sat up at once. Had the sheriff’s men found them? Or was it something as simple as a campfire spreading out of control?

Lady Kluck pushed open the tent flap, eyes wide with amazement. “What is it? What’s happened?” Marian demanded, voice rising an octave.

“It seems the good Friar’s prayers have been answered,” her guardian answered, her usual sharp wit quickly returning to her, “For that old thieving scoundrel has just shown up in camp, soaking wet but most certainly breathing.”

Marian thought that her entire body had turned to stone, since she felt utterly immobile. “He’s alive?”

“Believe me, the lot of us were convinced he was a ghost at first. But then he laughed and clapped a hand on Little John’s shoulder, and it was obvious that he was solid. We still haven’t managed to revive Little John from his faint.”

Marian rose to her feet and rushed outside, hardly daring to hope. The townspeople had congregated into a tight crowd, but when they saw it was her, they carefully stepped aside for her. After a moment, they’d parted enough for her to see Robin, fur still dripping, his vest plastered to his body. Yet for all that, he had his usual roguish grin on his face as he fanned the prone Little John with a hat, trying to revive him.

Marian stood stock still, gaping at him. Then, at last, she found her voice. “Robin!”

He looked up at once, and his grin became a little softer, his eyes a little brighter. “Hello, my love. It’s good to see you safe and sound.”

She ran forward and hurled herself into his arms, mindless of his wet clothes and how they would ruin her silk dress. He was alive and safe, and that was all that mattered to her. He embraced her, running a hand down her back. “It’s all right,” he murmured, soft enough for only her to hear, “We’ll talk in a moment.” She nodded and pulled away, understanding that he needed to see to his friend.

Another two minutes of fanning and light taps on the face revived Little John, who stared at Robin and demanded “How did you survive? When you didn’t come up, we’d thought you’d…”

“Oh, it was clear that I couldn’t swim towards the nearest bank without being hit by arrows. So I managed to grab a reed to breathe through and made my way further downriver, where I wouldn’t have to deal with arrows or fire. I’m afraid I lost my hat in the commotion. A pity; now I’ll have to acquire a new one somehow.”

“Well, don’t that beat all,” Little John said, clapping a hand on Robin’s back, “I should have known old Prince John couldn’t get rid of you that easily.”

“Oh, I didn’t forget him,” Robin said mischievously, “I made sure to track back to the castle—which is quite gutted, incidentally—and called out ‘Long live King Richard!’ until someone spotted me. Then I ran off before they could draw a bow. I’m sure the prince is thrashing about in frustration even as we speak.”

There was a roar of laughter from the group, followed by cheers and applause. Robin accepted them with a wave of his  hand. “Thank you all very kindly, but I believe I need a little time to myself. Being taken for dead takes a lot out of a man, you know.”

He left the circle and walked towards the secluded grove. After a minute, Marian followed him. When he was sure they were alone, he took her hand. “I’m so sorry I scared you, my dear,” he said, his voice gentle, “But it was the only way for me to escape.”

“I know that, of course I do,” she said softly, though she couldn’t stop her eyes from filling with tears, “But…I thought I’d lost you.”

He chuckled, wiping her tears away. “It’ll take more than a river and a few arrows to separate me from you. Why, even if they had managed to get in a lucky shot, I’d have found a way to come back as a ghost, haunting Prince John and bringing comfort to you.”

“I’m not entirely sure my father would approve of having a ghost as my suitor,” Marian said with a slight smile, “Having one that runs around the forest all day is bad enough.”

“Oh, but it’s such a wonderful place for privacy,” Robin murmured, touching her cheek, “If you go deep enough into the woods, it’s very difficult for anyone to find you or see what you’re up to.”

And he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly, cradling her head in his hands as if to reassure her that he was corporeal. She returned the kiss eagerly, sliding her arms around his neck. As she did so, something soft and tickly ran over her hand, and she realized that during all the commotion, she had still held on to Robin’s hat. Thus, when they drew away, she presented it to him. “I believe you lost this?”

“My hat!” Robin said joyfully, taking it from her and examining it, “Tsk, they’ve broken the feather and put quite a hole in it. No matter, those are easy to repair.”

 “I do believe you’re more happy to see your hat then you are me.” Marian said, her tone making it abundantly clear that she was joking. Robin grinned apologetically and clapped the hat on his head, its current bedraggled state suiting his mussed fur. Then he took her hand again. “Come along, my dear. I believe our efforts tonight warrant a great celebratory feast. And I’ll want you by my side all night. Nothing like a long swim to help one sort out his priorities.”


End file.
